The Emoji Movie Is the #1 Movie on Netflix Despite a Terrible RT Score

Before hacking with spider world Sony Pictures animated films were not widely known for their quality stamp of approval. Conversely, Sony Pictures animated films were widely known for their quality stamp of approval. Cloudy with a chance of meatballs.not appreciated Surfingand the first Hotel TransylvaniaTheir early resumes are not up to par. However, nothing they have done has even come close to the level of infamy that Emoji movie It was an instant success upon its release in 2017. To this day, It remains the only animated film to win a Razzie Award for Worst Picture.and is almost unanimously considered one of the worst films ever made in the genre. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 6% critics rating, with an audience rating of 36%, a rare occasion where both sides agree, though in this case the dismal reviews didn't stop families from heading to the theater.

But comebacks can come from the most unexpected places. And despite all the odds, this week's comeback was a great one. Netflix Charts displayed Emoji movie As the most-watched movie on the service in the United States, it beat out a crowd dominated by animated films like The lurex and Trolls unite togetherBut how did a notorious movie achieve such a stunning success recently? Has the film managed to maintain its toxic reputation, or has the hate it has generated been (even a little) overblown?

Is the Emoji movie really bad?

The short answer is yes, Emoji movie It was actually bad.It is difficult to say definitively whether this is actually the case. Worst animated movie ever (keep in mind that it's part of a crowded field that includes the likes of Dougal, Pinocchio: A True Storyand food fightBut it’s hard to deny that this is a surprisingly cynical production that seems convinced that kids will watch whatever is thrown at them, no matter how good it is. Its laziness is evident from the very first scene, which declares emojis “the most important form of communication ever invented.” What about the telephone, the written word, or face-to-face conversation?

The plot makes no effort to hide its liberal plagiarism from the likes of The Lego Movie or wreck it ralphThe film centers on Gene (T.J. Miller), a “boring” emoji who is unique in that he is able to make multiple facial expressions. For some reason, this makes him an outcast among his peers (when his phone owner chooses him to use in a text message, he begins to believe that his phone is broken), so Gene embarks on a journey to become a “normal” emoji before his digital city is reset..

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During his journey, Gene is accompanied by a hand emoji, High Five (James Corden), and Jailbreak (Anna Faris), a hacker whose backstory shows the film's involvement in particularly scandalous acts. wreck it ralph Jane's journey culminates in a brash message about the importance of being true to yourself, but even that message feels worn and overwrought in the final scenes, as if the filmmakers were making a last-ditch effort to convince viewers that their time wasn't entirely wasted (it was).

But perhaps the worst thing about it is Emoji movie It clearly looks more like an ad than an actual movie.A large portion of the runtime is filled with product placement for Dropbox, Spotify, etc., and a whole bunch of them are placed inside. Candy Crush. in contrast, The Lego Movie The film overcame this hurdle because it dealt directly with its pre-existing material and had compelling characters and thematic ideas, all of which helped make it one of the most subversive comedies of the 2000s. Emoji movie The app never interacts with its intellectual property for any reason other than advertising to children (who probably don't even know what Spotify is), and thus, it's the exact movie that many fear. The Lego Movie It will be.

The Emoji Movie Proves You Should Never Underestimate the Popularity of Animation

All this said it is not so completely It is amazing that Emoji movie It may see some late success on streaming (arguably worse movies have done the same). Netflix's chart this week was clearly dominated by animation, like The lurex, Trolls unite togetherand the last one Bikini Bottom Rescue: Sandy Cheeks MovieSummer is coming to an end, and it makes sense that kids across the country would want to get their fix of binge-watching before heading back to school. Of course, there’s also the question of how reliable Netflix’s top 10 list is given its algorithm, though audiences have no choice but to accept it as it is.

However, the most important lesson is what the past few years have proven time and time again – Animation is still a largely underappreciated medium in the industry.Think about how much animated films have dominated the box office lately; Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and Servants: Puppy Climbing Both were among the highest-grossing films of 2022 and last year, just Barbie Make more money worldwide from Super Mario Bros. MovieThis summer, Inside Out 2“The Last Days of the Dead” made twice as much as expected in its opening weekend, and remains the top-grossing film of the summer.

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Given how successful animation has been in the post-pandemic era, it’s clear that kids are a major part of the moviegoing demographic right now. This is made even more evident by how streaming keeps these movies viable even after they leave theaters. That’s not to say we should reward success for movies that seem disdainful of kids’ intelligence; they work like toy story and In the spider world We have proven that children deserve the best we can give them, not the worst. In a review of Roger EbertPeter Sobchinsky writes:

Turn a blind eye, Emoji movieNetflix’s recent success proves that kids’ entertainment will always be a viable market, especially on Netflix. Considering that Super Mario Bros. Movie A movie has been on Netflix for months, and families are likely to want to see something new. At the very least, that's a more justifiable reason for a bad movie to become popular on streaming, unlike movies like red noticewhich somehow became the most-watched movie in the service's history despite apparently attracting no one.

Emoji movie still not worth watching again

With all this said, Emoji movie It's still horrible from top to bottom. It is well deserving of its Razzie awards. Although in theory it could keep a child entertained and engaged for an hour and a half, there are many better films that can achieve the same thing. Inside Out 2 The film will finally be released digitally next week, and it's undoubtedly a more wholesome viewing experience for kids while also appealing to adults. Emoji movie Now available to stream on Netflix.